So a bunch of harmless little smoke pellets that he pulls out of his pocket and tosses right in plain sight is supposed to INTIMIDATE the guy who just totally owned him in a physical fight?

Sorry, not sold on that. It was stupid and useless.

People have called them smoke bombs, but they're not even close to smoke bombs. A smoke bomb implies a large cloud that obscures the view of the surrounding area or causes breathing impairment. This did neither. It just made cute little puffs.